Italian
Save the day, from May 16th the National Museum Collezione Salce will unveil to the public a selection of 56 works related to the horror production of the master Renato Casaro
The tribute of the National Museum Collezione Salce in Treviso to Renato Casaro (1935-2025) adds a new chapter. After exploring the worlds of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the exhibition in the room dedicated to the Master at the San Gaetano location will be renewed from May 16, 2026, revealing to the public the production related to the Horror genre.
The exhibition, curated in close collaboration with his wife Gabriella Casaro, confirms the role of the Museum as the guardian of the legacy of an author capable of translating the power of international cinema into images. The inauguration is scheduled for Saturday, May 16 at 12:00 PM (via Carlo Alberto 31, Treviso). The exhibition will be open until November 4, 2026.
The exhibition highlights the famous collaborations with the masters of suspense, starting with the works created for Dario Argento: in particular, the original sketch and the final poster of Opera (1987), which encapsulates Casaro’s painting technique applied to thrill, along with the materials for Tenebre (1982).
In the center of the room, a display case holds 20 preparatory sketches: a series of alternative variations that the artist presented to directors and productions to arrive at the choice of the final subject. One focus is on the sketch for the film The Mirror Crack’d (Guy Hamilton, 1980): the work is displayed with a transparent sheet overlaying the original on which cut-out letters are applied, a direct testament to the study method of lettering and layout.
The selection (a total of 56 works including original sketches, drawings, and posters) includes works for other cult titles such as: Blow Out (Brian De Palma 1981); A Nightmare – From the Depths of Night (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven 1984); The Lost Boys (The Lost Boys, Joel Schumacher 1987); Maniac Cop (William Lustig 1988); Amityville 4: The Devil’s Escape (Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes, Sandor Stern 1989), and more.
Through preparatory sketches, variants, and archival materials, the public will discover how Casaro managed to synthesize suspense and terror into a single image, making iconic the films that have marked the history of the genre.
